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The SSG BATTLE OF THE MACHINES Round 1 - Fight 9!

We are still in the Preliminary Matches for letting the fans decide which is the Best Hasbro Star Wars Vehicle for All Time!

It's the Battle of Naboo tonight as the N1 Starfighter takes on the Droid Fighters of the Trade Federation!

The N1 debuted during Midnight Madness on May 3, 1999 with bright colors, exciting lights and sounds, and a $29.99 price tag. The ship makes a very awesome fly-bye audible, as well as breaks the silence of the later additions to the collection, with some rapidly firing green laser cannons! In case that's not enough to defend the Queen, a proton torpedo fires hard and launches rapidly away from the ship to destroy Naboo's invading enemies! The cockpit holds on pilot action figure, and also has a place to connect the Pilot Anakin Skywalker's flight control panel accessory, that gives figures a throttle and firing stick they can actually hold to command the craft. Finally, when the tail flare is added to the craft (for its basic assembly) the ship is longer than any other Star Wars fightercraft, with nice flowing lines and a cool, vintage craftsman look.

The Trade Federation meets the challenge of Naboo's fighter corps with their own Droid Fighter Squadron. And for originally $20, you actually got a small squadron when you bought this toy, as 3 (three) fighters came in the box! They fly in formation, connected by a handle you (their master) hold. But these light fighters are actually under your remote control! By using various triggers on the handle, you can cause the two outer-most wings to fire their missles! Or simulate battle damage by using other buttons to knock them out of formation, and pretend they got blasted out of the sky! Meanwhile, the center Droid Starfighter can be removed from the squadron and transformed into a walking battle droid fighter to support the Trade Federation's ground Troops! On land or in the air these small and agile fighters can gang up on the beleagured Naboo.

Gotta go with the N1 Starfighter, very cool ship. It's a little undersized, and I wish the fins were made of a stronger plastic, but it's still a great ship. Ric Olie doesn't sit all that great in it, but the Pilot Anakin with the controls looks great in it. I love the sleak retro feel of the ship, compared to the OT's ships. You can definatly tell that the ship designers were looking to make an artistic statement with the ship.

The Droid Starfighters, while cool just arn't all that intresting to me. Just kinda boring really, I wish they would have really released a better version of just one ship, and allowed you to buy multiples if you wanted, then make a 3-pack. The control handle is a cool idea though, nice going Hasbro.

Naboo fighter all the way. It's just better than the Droid fighters as far as looks, playability, etc. And I agree with Mr. Binks that the Anakin Pilot fits in there really well. That and I hate Ric Olie (I'll get you one day, Olie!)

Flying with style

The N-1 has a curvy shape kind of like the older cars of the 50' and 60's. It's also what artists would describe as art' noveau. This is a period of time in which art was done in a flowing "organic" manner. This is the feeling I get with the N-1. The later ship look great mind you but they lack the fluidity of the shape of this craft. Later ships can be classified as industrial (no pun intended for ILM) this thinking is in line with our own evolution of technology and I think that's what Lucas was trying to do.

Anyway, the toy is awesome. The N-1 has electronic sounds and a firing mechanism, as opposed to the TF's DF which has wings that fall off (the walking one) or the other two in the set which do absolutely nothing. Didn't like the TF's DF color either.

Wow Tycho. This is by far the most one-sided match-up to date. The N1 by a landslide is way better than the lowly droid fighters. The cool sounds, R2 unit, and missile make this vehicle right on par (maybe even slightly better) than the X-Wing.

I don't think the Droid Fighters can even compete. They are so clumsy to play with. Plus, the wings come off very easily. I think we'll be hard pressed to get even one vote for these POCs.

"I'm just a YES man trying to make my way in the universe." - Jango McCallum

"Good dialogue and smooth editing are no match for a good YES man by your side, kid." - George Lucas

Well to be honest, all the Classic starfighters are booked in preliminary matches against each other, so I figured I'd keep Episode One's in a "classic sort" of match up until a victor came out ahead. Uh...yeah. It's really early to call this one with only 22 votes in (as of when I'm posting it). But the response is going to be typical of us all (I think) as electronic lights and sounds just rule!

(especially over flimsy plastic!)

But how I wish the TIE Fighter would have been electronic! I love their fly-bye sounds and the rattlesnake in their cannons! It's no wonder the TIE lost to the X-wing.

The Interceptor's defeat of the A-wing was a closer call. I would have gone with the A-wing, but that's just me. The Empire won that one after a pretty well fought battle!

Meanwhile, there are still two more Dog Fights in the Preliminary rounds. Though one of them is not next week's fight, you will like that match up as well.

The Droid Starfighter stinks on so many levels. The look is enough to reduce it to runner-up, but the backstory is just horrible. They're made on Xi Char, "where ultra-precision manufacturing is a religious practice followed by thousands" [Cross-Sections, TPM]. Moreover, they can only fly for 35 minutes before refueling, what's up with that?

The N-1 is a great design that translate into a great toy. Hopefully by the time it's re-released, Hasbro will have taken out the molded R2, and made droids with removeable domes, so that you can bring your favorite astromech into battle. Slightly more accomodating cockpit, too.

"It's bombs away for Iraq and on our civil liberties if Bush and his cronies get their way. Dissent is patriotic!"
- Helen Thomas, veteran journalist

Journalists are mostly centrist in their political orientation. The minority of journalists who do not identify with the "center" are more likely to identify with the "right" when it comes to economic issues and to identify with the "left" when it comes to social issues.

If this were a battle between the Naboo Fighter and the Action Fleet Droid Fighter, it'd be the Droid Fighter. However, as the Hasbro Droid Fighter is a trio of disappointing, flimsy, inaccurate fighters, I gotta go with the N1.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.